In an era of increased sensitivity toward the US military and politics (from Facebook to reprimand to discharge), it was unusual to read a report in which US Air Force Academy cadets participated in a debate on the presidential candidates, calling for the re-election of their Commander-in-Chief:
The event, held Oct. 29, in the heat of the run-up to the presidential Read more
Floyd Corkins is the man who allegedly tried to enter the Family Research Council’s building in Washington, DC, with 15 Chick-FIL-A sandwiches, a gun, and 50 rounds of ammunition. He wounded a guard before he was wrestled to the ground. He claimed he didn’t like the FRC’s politics.
He has been charged with domestic terrorism.
Corkins, of Herndon, Virginia, pleaded not guilty in a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts. The charges include committing an act of terrorism Read more
While there is a current controversy over how quickly President Obama called the attack on the US consulate in Libya a “terrorist” act, another similar scandal has simmered for nearly three years. In November 2009, a gunman yelled Allahu Akbar and opened fire in an Army processing center. He killed 14 people and wounded more than 30 more.
Despite his motivations and associations, his attack was classified as “workplace violence.”
As a result, the Soldiers wounded in that event and the families of those who were killed do not have access to Read more
As has become tradition, President Obama declared this past weekend leading up to September 11th “days of prayer and remembrance:”
I ask that the people of the United States honor and remember the victims of September 11, 2001, and their loved ones through prayer, contemplation, memorial services, the visiting of memorials, the ringing of bells, evening candlelight remembrance vigils, and other appropriate ceremonies and activities.
He specifically noted military service following the Read more
Two recent articles provided insight into the social treatment of Christianity in the United States. The first, an editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette — home of the US Air Force Academy — was aptly titled “Don’t Look, there’s a Christian chapel:”
We often hear from militant atheists, who make up a small fraction of nonbelievers, about a perceived theocratic stronghold in the United States. Christians will take over government, they tell us, and must be stopped if we are to remain free from compulsory religion.
There is an appropriate acknowledgement that not all atheists are represented by the vocal — and vitriolic — minority. There’s also a description that’s right up Michael Weinstein’s conspiracy theory alley: Read more
If you’re a member of the US military and you’ve ever Facebook “Liked” President Barack Obama or Governor Mitt Romney, you’d better pay attention, because the Department of Defense just issued guidance that restricts that very thing.
Contrary to the conclusions of a prior article, the US DoD has just recently published official guidance on “political activities” in association with social media, and they’re fairly explicit. The undated but very recently released “2012 Public Affairs Guidance for Political Campaigns and Elections” says:
An [active duty] Service member may generally express his or her own personal views on public issues or political candidates via social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, or personal Blogs, much the same as they would be permitted to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper.
Senator Jim Inhofe of the Senate Armed Services Committee “respectfully requested” that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta explain why members of the US military were authorized to wear their uniforms in a homosexual “pride” parade in San Diego.
In a letter to Panetta, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said department rules bar service members from participating in political activities while in uniform and pressed Panetta on why a waiver was granted, who requested it and why it was considered over others.
The Congressmen also noted that other military members have been punished for doing what the DoD authorized in this instance: Read more
President Barack Obama issued a statement on the occasion of Ramadan, noting the ‘Arab spring’ that is helping countries “courageously achieve democracy.”
This year, Ramadan holds special meaning for those citizens in the Middle East and North Africa who are courageously achieving democracy and self-determination and for those who are still struggling to achieve their universal rights. The United States continues to stand with Read more